


Happy Birthday, Captain!

by itmightgetweird



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, Marvel Universe, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 11:01:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,681
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11401176
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itmightgetweird/pseuds/itmightgetweird
Summary: It's Steve's 99th birthday!





	Happy Birthday, Captain!

**Author's Note:**

> There's a swear or two. Nothing else of concern

The sound of approaching footsteps caused to you snatch the piece of notebook paper from the counter top and stuff it into your back pocket. You tried to assume a casual position and hoped it didn't look like you were up to something. As soon as Tony and Nat entered the kitchen, you relaxed a bit and propped your elbows on the island in front of you.

"Hey, totally random question but you can see the fireworks from the roof, right? There's not another building blocking them?" you asked.

"What kind of billionaire would I be if my tower had sub-par views?" Tony quipped.

"Cool cool cool. Okay, unrelated question: can I have the contact info for your party planner?"

"Sure, if you can convince me that those questions are actually unrelated."

A corner of Nat's lips lifted in a smirk as she grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and turned back around to face you. "Planning something for Steve?"

_Dammit, Natasha._

Your eyes widened instantly and blood rushed to your cheeks as you tried to regain control over your expression. How did she do that? You didn't think you'd ever been obvious about it and you'd only talked about it with two people...

_Oh yeah, spy._

In the three months since you started working for Stark Industries, you'd moved from the marketing department to a sort of assistant to the Avengers. You honestly never would've expected it as it just sort of happened. Within two weeks, somehow you had attracted the attention of one Tony Stark and he started dragging you around the Tower for various other tasks. Your supervisor was a little peeved at first, but did he really expect you to say no to the boss man?

You almost tripped over yourself the first time Tony brought you around his team. You'd been staring intently at the folder in your hands, flipping through logo designs for a new organization within the company when suddenly he was introducing you to a group you didn't know you'd walked into.

You'd become fast friends with Wanda and so you spent a lot of your free time with her and, by extension, sometimes the rest of the team. And sometime during the meetings and movie nights and company gatherings, you'd become close to the pair of super soldiers as well.

You crashed back into the moment when Tony chuckled softly. "Ooh. Got the hots for Capsicle? Bummer."

Your gaze flicked to Tony. "Bummer?"

He lifted a shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "Always a shame when beautiful women are off the market."

"Off the- oh come on, Tony. That's not... He doesn't-"

"It's cool. Your secret's safe with me," he added.

You narrowed your eyes as you watched him draw an X over his chest with his finger. "Okay one, you're terrible at keeping secrets. And two, there's no secret."

"What makes you think I'm terrible at keeping secrets?"

" _I am Iron Man._ "

His lips twitched as he tried to hold back a grin. "Valid point. But the sentiment still stands. Listen, if you're going to throw a party, do it yourself. Keep it to those of us usually around the tower--people he actually interacts with. Avengers plus the strays plus those of you that hold down the fort behind the scenes. He'll be more comfortable."

You let out a sigh but couldn't stop your smile. "Duly noted. And don't let Sam or Bucky hear you call them strays."

\---

"Oh my God, Bucky, what the hell was I thinking?" you sighed as you marched into his room and flopped straight onto his bed.

He turned around in his desk chair and raised an eyebrow as he looked you over. "What's the problem?"

"I can't do this!" You knew your voice was muffled because you were face down on his bed but you couldn't bring yourself to turn your head.

"Gotta be more specific."

You started to talk again but the response got lost in his comforter.

"Doll. Move your face."

You shifted just enough to angle your face in his direction and took a deep breath of fresh air before continuing. "I dunno what I was thinking. He's gonna think my present is lame and by extension that I'm lame and I... I'm always just gonna be the girl who does marketing-slash-whatever else Tony decides he needs at the moment and... I dunno why I think Steve will ever be interested in me-"

"I told you I'm pretty sure he is-"

"No, Buck, he was just flirting with that new girl from the September Foundation and-"

"Okay, calm down. First, breathe. You've been non-stop since I asked you to elaborate. Stevie can't flirt his way out of a paper bag so I guarantee it was all her."

You simply groaned and rolled over, curling onto your side with your back to your friend. "Fine. Well she's still gorgeous and I'm-"

"Nope. You're not doin' that." You heard the chair creak and a couple quiet footsteps before the bed dipped down behind you. "Don't sell yourself short, sweetheart. Steve thinks you're great. Trust me, I hear it often. 'She looks beautiful today. D'you think she likes to dance? God, Buck, her laugh is perfect. We have the same favorite dog.' I swear, he's like a damn teenager."

You couldn't stop the snort of laughter as you listened to Bucky imitate his best friend. When your giggles subsided, there was a beat of silence before you spoke again. "I'm nervous as hell."

"He'll love it."

\---

You couldn't move from in front of the mirror in Wanda's room. You tried but your nerves had sprouted roots you were sure had no intention of releasing their grasp on the ground beneath you. But hey, at least you felt cute as you stood there imitating a statue.

She had all but thrown your current outfit at you a couple hours ago before leaving to finish decorating. Your white shorts were paired with a flowy shirt that was blue with white stars near the collar and red and white stripes at the bottom. It reminded you a bit of Steve's uniform; that was probably why she picked it.

Finally, you shook out your arms and took a deep breath to calm your nerves. "FRIDAY, where's Steve?"

The AI answered a second later. "In the common room. He won't stop asking for the team's location."

After a quick text to Wanda to let her know you were on your way with the birthday boy, you slid your phone into your back pocket and left your room. You found the Captain standing behind the couch in the main room with his arms folded across his chest.

"Something's wrong with FRIDAY, she won't-" He stopped short when he turned around and saw you. "Hi."

You smirked. "You'll catch flies if you keep your mouth open like that, Rogers."

His mouth clamped shut as a blush covered his cheeks. "Sorry, um... something's... FRIDAY's not being very helpful. Do you, uh... where is everyone?"

"I think they said something about getting ready for the fireworks? It's Independence Day!"

His face fell slightly. "It is, isn't it?"

You tried to keep a smile on your face even though you felt a twinge of guilt at letting him think that was the only reason you considered the day special. Squaring your shoulders, you crossed the room and held your hand out to the man in front of you. He briefly hesitated before unfolding his arms and placing his palm in yours. You wasted no time in intertwining your fingers and pulling him along behind you as you made your way to the elevators.

Neither of you spoke as the elevator climbed fifteen floors to the rooftop patio. You squeezed his hand as the doors slid open, and you'd only taken a few steps out when he stopped walking, bringing you to a halt as well. The balloons and streamers were visible immediately, an overload of red, white, and blue around the open space. There was even two giant silver balloons in the shape of 9s. That must've been Tony's idea.

The moment you looked back at the super soldier, you heard a shuffling noise before the rest of the group walked into the open, yelling "happy birthday" to the stunned man behind you.

Bucky was the first one to walk up and engulf Steve in a hug. "Here's to the last year of your nineties, punk," he said with a laugh.

Steve chuckled too, clapping a hand on Bucky's back as he embraced him. "This your doin', Buck?" he asked as he pulled away.

"Nah, she's the party planner."

Steve's eyes widened as he turned to you.

"Surprise," you said, doing a little wave with your hands. Well, with one hand because Steve still had a hold of the other.

You were sure he was about to respond but Tony swooped in and threw his arm over Steve's shoulders. "Alright, old man, you can't let these two hog you all night; you gotta mingle with everyone else too."

Your eyes were glued to Steve's back as he walked away, mesmerized by the way his muscles shifted beneath the dark blue t-shirt and jeans he wore. It wasn't until Bucky let out a laugh next to you that you realized you were staring.

"I dunno why you think you're subtle about your crush," Bucky said quietly.

You couldn't stop the huff as you reached out and smacked his chest. "Shut it, Barnes."

\---

You were beyond pleased with how the afternoon played out. There was a constant flow of easy conversations, no one ended up hammered, there were no arguments. They played a couple rounds of beer pong, which Steve was surprisingly good at. There was even a long round of embarrassing childhood stories that you surprisingly willingly participated in. That was probably courtesy of the alcohol.

A little before nightfall, Tony captured everyone's attention to give a little speech celebrating Steve's birthday. He finished it off by announcing that Steve needed to open his gifts before the fireworks started.

Steve glanced around the space then turned back to Tony with a raised eyebrow. "I know I'm old, but I'm not blind, am I?"

"Oh!" Tony snapped his fingers and pointed to you. "Take the Captain to his gift, yeah?"

"Just me?"

"We can't bring it up here and it'll get crowded if we all go down there, so yeah. Scram."

\---

Your heart hammered against your ribs as you and Steve entered the elevator again. The nerves were much worse this time. Before, you'd just been showing him that his friends didn't forget his birthday. This time, you were showing him something that took more planning. It was much more personal. Questions flew through your head and caused a little seed of doubt to plant itself in your mind. What if Steve didn't like your gift? What if it was too much? What if it was just too much _from you_.

The ride felt much longer this time too, despite only descending two floors. The hallway to your destination looked just like the rest did on the higher levels--clean lines, polished concrete floors, light gray walls, and a few scattered stainless steel doors. All the rooms had been empty until you asked to use one for the gift.

Steve walked silently next to you as you went straight for the end of the hallway. You asked him to scan his fingerprint on the pad beside the door, and it slid open with a soft _whoosh_.

The lights were off, showcasing the darkening cityscape through the floor-to-ceiling windows in front of you. You took a moment to take in the warm colors of the sunset and breathed in deeply to calm your nerves. Reaching out to a light switch, you revealed a brand new art studio.

You heard the breath leave Steve's lungs in a quiet gasp.

The room wasn't huge--maybe twenty by thirty feet--but there was clearly more than enough room to work on multiple projects at once. The light beige walls and dark floors were much easier on the eyes than the sterile feel of the hallway and a few strategically placed lamps eliminated the need for the overhead florescent lights. There was a tall, metal cabinet on the left side of the room, next to a couple shorter units with thin drawers for storing smaller items. A sink finished off that wall, giving him a place to clean paintbrushes. Two easels stood on the opposite side of the room beside a comfortable looking sitting area where he could relax. A large table sat in the middle of the room, providing a decently sized, flat workspace.

"Suprise! Again! So um. I thought that maybe you'd want a studio? You said you usually paint and draw in your room but it gets kinda messy and crowded so I asked Tony if he had an available room--preferably with an awesome view. And I'm super jealous, by the way," you said with a smile as you stood in the middle of the room.

His eyes darted around the space. But he was still silent so you kept talking.

"Buck and I put together those cabinets and everyone bought you a bunch of supplies. Paints, canvases, charcoal pencils. Clint actually made this table. You can tell FRIDAY who you'd like to have access up here--if you want anyone up here at all. Um. I know you like records but I bet it's distracting having to flip them every now and then, right? So FRIDAY also has access to all your music and you can control it with that panel right there; I'll help you figure it out if you need. Oh! And those pictures on the wall are from Pe--uh they're from Spider-Man. I asked for some really cool pictures of Brooklyn-"

Another huff from Steve broke your train of thought. Glancing to the side, you saw the look of pure adoration on his face.

"Is it... do you like it?"

"I love it," he breathed.

You absolutely couldn't stop the smile from spreading across your face and the little happy dance you did at his admission. You were just about to voice how ecstatic you were when he stepped closer and pressed his lips to yours.

You used to scoff at people when they told you they saw fireworks during a kiss, but you understood it now. Assuming you hadn't been gone too long and those weren't the actual fireworks.

His large hands cupped your face as the kiss continued. Heat bloomed out from the center of your chest and you just knew if he backed off at that moment, he'd see the blush covering your face. This was all you'd wanted for months and wow, your little daydreams did not come anywhere close to the real thing.

You were the first to pull away for air. He pressed his forehead to yours, your exhales intermingling between you. It took you a couple moments to realize you'd been gripping the front of his shirt. You looked down with a soft laugh and tried to smooth away the wrinkles.

"You're amazing," Steve said quietly. "Can't believe you did all this for me."

You smiled as you lifted your eyes to his again. "Everyone deserves something special every now and then. Though I'm afraid I've set the bar pretty high now for personalized gifts..."

He laughed. "True. No one else gets to thank you the way I did though," he said as he leaned down for another quick kiss.

"Aw, but Nat's birthday's coming next!"

You were sure Steve tried to keep his expression neutral but a shade of pink still broke out and covered his face and neck.

You giggled. "I'm sorry, I couldn't resist; I like it when you blush."

He simply shook his head. "You're somethin' else, doll."

You placed a kiss on his cheek before grabbing his hand once more. "Happy birthday Captain. Now c'mon, let's go watch the fireworks."


End file.
